Vietnam forum

1 Week in Southern Viet Nam

bamigoreng2-57

Joined Travelfish17th April, 2011Posts: 7

Ok heres the deal.
I will be in cambodia (siem reap or pnom penh or sinhoukville) in mid july and I want to go to vietnam say around the 20th and stay for about 7 days and then come back to cambodia. I just want to spend a nice time with my girlfriend who I'll be meeting in saigon once I get to vietnam.I only have these 7 days.I thought of something nice like staying on an lonely island or something like that..I only read about phu quoc island and it seems pretty crowded (?) I am also travelling on a low budget so I just wanted to know if someone out there could help me or maybe give me an idea of where I could go, how I could get there and maybe how much it would cost.I only have 7 days and just want to have a great and hopefully romantic holiday with my girlfriend.I'd like to be at some place near the see which has a some nice (lonely) beaches and the availability of having a motorbike to explore a bit of the region on our own.The accomodation should be some kind of backpacker's place but still nice enough for some romantic time [img]smileys/smile.gif[/img]

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eastwest

Joined Travelfish17th December, 2009Posts: 774

First of all Phu Quoc isn't that crowded but if you're coming from HCMC it might take some time to get there if your budget doesn't allow for flying.

Normally I'd say that Con Dao islands would be perfect for you but it's probably more expensive than your budget allows. Apart from flying there you'd have to budget roughly $20 per room and some $20-30 for food and drinks for both. For the rest there's not much else to do so other costs would be low.

In general I must say that beach areas in Vietnam do not really cater for the romantic backpacker. Nha Trang as plenty of cheap accommodaion but the beach is not that romantic. Mui Ne is a bit more upmarket.

Do consider Phu Quoc and even Sihanoukville or Kep . Both can be reached in a long day on the bus. Islands near Sihanoukville would be perfect for you and even rabbit island near Kep could work for you.

bamigoreng2-57

Joined Travelfish17th April, 2011Posts: 7

The thing is I have a vietnamese girlfriend.So she wants to be somewhere in Vietnam because she wants to explore a bit of her country (she lives in germany). what exactly do you mean with upmarket? I looked at some pictures of Mui Ne and it looks pretty good. Are there affordable rooms there which still arent some cheapy backpackers place.Should I get a motorbike to have something to do around there and if yes how much would it roughly be?
And the most important question will the whole romantic thing work out for me in Mui Ne?

eastwest

Joined Travelfish17th December, 2009Posts: 774

Mui Ne will be fine then. I believe most places nowadays in Mui Ne are in the $50 - 100 range but not all of them yet so you should be able to find a few places for $20-30. Most have their own little beachfront. Could be that some of the cheaper places are not directly by the beach but within walking distance.
There are sand dunes that you can visit and driving around on motorbike is possible as well.

For a less touristy atmosphere you can move to Phan Tiet which is nearby

bamigoreng2-57

Joined Travelfish17th April, 2011Posts: 7

ok thats probably then where I'll be heading to. I guess the trains from hcmc run daily and it would be no problem to get from phan tiet to mui ne. I also read that the beaches in mui ne are supposed to be a lot cleaner and nicer the more you head south, is that true?
I got a final question and I guess its a bit offtopic but, is there a possibility of eating snake around that area?? I want to try one of those snake meals once in my life and I was just wondering if this would be the place to do it?
Thanks for your help mate!

eastwest

Joined Travelfish17th December, 2009Posts: 774

It mostly depends on season with rains and current playing a big part. Northern side of Mui Ne is the local fishing village. The side where the resorts are is probably kept clean by each resort. Do not remember the exact lay out but there are for sure some deserted beaches in the surroundings that you'll find if you rent a motorbike.

Snake. For that you'll have to go to Mekong delta where it is common. I'm sure that they eat it in other parts of Vietnam but it's more difficult to find. Mui Ne is not the best place to start looking for it. If your girlfriend speaks vietnamese she could ask.
Better to try HCMC because there are certainly restaurants there that cater for it in such a big city.
Vietnamese in general only eat snake, just like dog, on special occasions because of superstition and only in specialized restaurants. Only in the Mekong delta or very poor areas it may be eaten as "normal" food.